


The Red Knight

by howelleheir



Series: Unfinished Works [10]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Abandoned Work - Unfinished and Discontinued, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Evil Tony Stark, Implied/Referenced Sex, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-07
Updated: 2020-01-07
Packaged: 2021-02-27 14:15:42
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 683
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22158454
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/howelleheir/pseuds/howelleheir
Summary: Bits and pieces, scraps, scenes, and other unfinished works. Many stop mid-sentence, most never develop a plot. These are all pieces that I started at one point or another and then moved on to another work, another ship, another fandom, or just got too busy to work on anything, so they will likely never be finished, but some of them were fun, and some were even good, so I'm putting them all out there with the disclaimer that they are abandoned WIPs, and unless a particular piece gets a lot of love and re-sparks my interest, I have no intention of coming back to them. Various fandoms and genres, some pieces very porny, some downright objectionable. Tread with care and mind the tags.In this work: Rumlow is sent to exchange a package with some very specific instructions.
Relationships: Brock Rumlow/Tony Stark
Series: Unfinished Works [10]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1594933
Comments: 1
Kudos: 11





	The Red Knight

**Author's Note:**

> Never actually gets around to the Tony reveal, so I spoiled it in the tags. Can't remember where I was going with this one, but it's a fun concept. Iirc, the numbers are all fun easter eggs, but I've been out of this fandom for so long I'll be damned if I remember what they are.

TAR.: 2203.STR.TAC.AST.RED-KNIGHT

TAR. LOC.: 43.462882, -74.334698

ACCS. CODE: 1216

DIR.: Exchange pkg. Red Knight to assemble item accor. to specs. Return pkg. to Vault for installation.

“That’s it?” Rumlow asked, toeing the line between  _ with-all-due-respect _ and  _ shove-it-up-your-ass. _ “So, what am I, a package boy now?”

Pierce gave him a warning look. “The Red Knight,” he said, “is a high-level asset, who also happens to be a public figure. If everything goes according to plan, he’ll replace our asset at Lehigh. I can’t send just _anyone_ to meet him, and he has...specific requirements.”

“Okay,” said Rumlow, feeling a little less demoted. “Like what?”

“Old-Guard etiquette.”

Rumlow’s eyes went wide. The last mission he’d been given with  _ those _ orders had put him on his hands and knees for Gideon Malick - an experience which had put his loyalty to the test, and not one he cared to repeat. He opened his mouth to refuse, but Pierce held up a hand.

“This isn’t a request. I sent him a picture of every agent I could have given clearance for this, and he picked yours. It’s a part of our arrangement with him, and the services he provides have never been more crucial.”

Rumlow gritted his teeth and nodded.  _ It’s for the good of mankind,  _ he reminded himself.  _ Order through pain. Take yours like a man. _

The briefcase Pierce had handed over in the front seat, Rumlow started to drive. The coordinates on his GPS told him he was headed to an area of State Forest between Lake Pleasant, Speculator, and Gilmantown in New York. Over the seven-hour drive, he tried to imagine who he might be meeting. A public figure, huh? That could be a lot of people. Politicians, celebrities, executives. But they didn’t  _ assemble _ things. This had to be a scientist or engineer. And the item was to be  _ installed _ at the Vault? That meant a piece of equipment for the Asset. So, a public figure in biotech...oh, yeah, this was going to be fun. Some dweeb with little-man syndrome who makes stuff like the Chair as a hobby, and Rumlow had to do whatever he said. 

He had long since given up on guessing when Gilmantown Road turned to dirt and he approached the turnoff. It was unmarked, easy to miss, and the trees grew densely around the muddy drive. If his car had been any bigger, he would have had to hike. It ran for a little over a mile before it just...stopped.

The GPS told Rumlow that he was in the right place, but there was nothing there, no building, no other car, just the empty drive behind him, and dense forest all around. He got out and looked around. The sun was going down fast, and he thought maybe he just couldn’t see the building in the low light. Something glinted just off the path to his right. Carefully, he made his way through the dense undergrowth to inspect.

It was an access point - just a keypad on a post. Hadn’t there been a code on the dossier’s cover sheet? He pulled it from the file, entered  _ 1216 _ on the keypad, and the red light flashed green. There was a strange grinding noise from behind him. When he turned to look, he saw, in the patch of dirt just in front of his car, that a hole had opened up in the drive. Perfectly square and, he noticed as he came closer, at least thirty feet deep. Hydra had bunkers like this all over, but Rumlow had only seen one or two in his whole career. They weren’t used much anymore. 

Rumlow took a breath, then lowered himself onto the first rung of the ladder set into the wall of the tunnel and climbed down. When he reached the bottom, his eyes took a minute to adjust to the darkness of the low-ceilinged antechamber, rough concrete, a single light in the ceiling casting a dim yellow glow. There were drains in the floor and exterior walls, and a heavy steel flood-door up ahead. 


End file.
